[ksrunner]

Hello all,

I've been lurking here for long enough, I decided to go ahead and join up. I have a bone stock 84 FJ60 that I've owned since the beginning of November. I had a couple of 4Runners as well, hence the username.

I actually became aware of this board back in November when I was moving from Idaho back to KS. My buddy and I were having some electrical issues with the 60 in the blackhole that is Rock Springs, WY, so he joined and asked a few quick questions. We managed to drive from Rock Springs on a good battery and faltering alternator all the way to the nearest replacement alternator in Golden, CO during daylight hours. My friend is the least mechanical person I know, so it really warped his mind to see me install an alternator (he's easily impressed ) in the parking lot of the stealership in Golden while people were taking delivery of new Lexuses around us.

Needless to say, that 1400mile trip instilled great confidence in the truck for me, and I just took it from KC to Aspen, CO for new years to do some skiing. Mind you, this was during the blizzard while every freakin' road was shut down from KS into CO. We got to Colby KS then they dropped the gates on us. We wound up taking a detour 70 miles north into Nebraska and were able to hit an "open road" west into CO. It turned an 11.5 hour drive into a 16.5 hour drive, but we made it.

Love the board and you'll hear more from me in the future.

Thanks!

Nick

Oh, and keep records on your trucks. The guy I bought the cruiser from didn't, but several previous owners kept awesome records. My truck came from Alaska originally, it had a new crank?!??! put in it at 67K miles, it was shipped from alaska to boise, id back in 99 or 2000. I've since brought it to KS....or maybe that's the other way around...it brought me to KS. Anyway, the records are a really cool time capsule!

[cody c]

welcome to the addiction! good to hear your enjoying the new to you cruiser, and that youve found out how dependable they can be.

Any plans for future modifications?

[ksrunner]

I've long known about the reliability of Toyotas first hand. My two 4Runners were excellent. There have been several FJ40s in the family and one of former college roommates has a beautiful 78 FJ40 with a hotted up 2F in it.

My plans for future modifications change daily. It is now my second vehicle to my 98 Jetta commuter. However, I travel a lot racing sailboats and often have the need to pull a ~1500-2000 lb load to every corner of the country with three people in the vehicle. So, I am considering what to do next: plan A is to buy an extended cab Tundra 2001-2003 with a topper on it for long distance travel/light towing with 3 people in it. That is ~15-18K deal. Then the Cruiser can be modified in a more extreme fashion. i.e. spring over, 35s+, lockers, etc. Plan B, would be to forget the truck and build the cruiser more conservatively. i.e. H55 or NV4500, maybe fuel injection for the 2F (though diesel swaps are exciting), perhaps just 33s....you know, mods that would help it stretch it's legs on the highway and up the offroadability slightly.

I dunno, I'll figure it out.....that's why I'm here.

[KingB]

Hey glad to see a cruiser making it out to Aspen in adverse conditions. I've done it before, up to and including a slide into a ditch just east of Limon on I-70. I lived in Aspen for six years and that's the place I bought my 60 in '99. These are great vehicles and I hope
you enjoy yours as much as I've enjoyed mine. I've driven it on many camping and backpacking excursions across the west U.S. and have always been pleased...too bad kansas doesnt have the back roads and jeep trails that Colorado has in such numbers...

[ksrunner]

Yeah, my friend's GPS on his laptop saved us. He found the route up through Nebraska when the state of KS said we couldn't go west anymore.

I also got a "cruiser wave" from a guy driving east on 70 in a white 60 with a pretty killer cargo basket.

[Mark W]

Originally Posted by ksrunner

Oh, and keep records on your trucks. The guy I bought the cruiser from didn't, but several previous owners kept awesome records. My truck came from Alaska originally, it had a new crank?!??! put in it at 67K miles, it was shipped from alaska to boise, id back in 99 or 2000. I've since brought it to KS....or maybe that's the other way around...it brought me to KS. Anyway, the records are a really cool time capsule!

Who brought it out of Alaska? Wondering if I know the rig or the (then) owner.


Mark...

[ksrunner]

A guy named Will Saul (at that time, he lived on Wrangler Way) from Anchorage. I have records from him going back to 1992 through 1999. I'm inclined to think he may not have been that mechanical because, I have receipts for brake jobs, oil changes, alternator installs, etc. He had a new crank put in at 72K miles for $2800 by some outfit on International Airport Way in 1993. A guy named Randy Spangler from Boise (he lived in Boise's North End) bought the truck in 1999 and had it shipped to Portland where he picked it up and then brought it back to Idaho. The truck had 2 Idaho owners before I bought it.....apparently, it spent all of it's Idaho life in the same neighborhood where I bought it.

[Mark W]

Nope, Don't know him. Probably don't know the rig either.

It's a small world though, so it was worth asking.


Mark...